


fingers wrapped around my wrist

by carpelucem



Category: Hunger Games (2012) RPF
Genre: M/M, press tours, video games - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-03
Updated: 2014-01-03
Packaged: 2018-01-07 06:46:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1116760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carpelucem/pseuds/carpelucem
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Video games and press tours and minibars. Maybe not in that order.</p>
            </blockquote>





	fingers wrapped around my wrist

**Author's Note:**

> Because their interviews together for Catching Fire were too good to ignore. (I'm aware the timeline may have been slightly altered for order of European film premieres.)

Josh wasn't lying to OUT when he said he'd be open to dating a guy in the future. He just didn't expect to be thrust into the situation a month after the issue went to press. 

He supposed he couldn't really be blamed for acting quickly, because this isn't a guy he met at college, a drunken frat boy hookup or even a guy from a theatre class or someone he met in a coffeeshop. 

It's Liam. 

And Liam's an entirely different story.

They joke, the three of them all the time, about their closeness. Liam and Jen and Josh are the focus of their franchise, the faces of the movie, and of course their relationships onscreen are pushed over into the tidepool of gossip rags. Any gesture, any offhand comment they make is scrutinized for meaning and they've pretty much learned to ignore everything that's put to press, and go on about their lives. The three of them are young, in their early twenties, and they honestly don't care. They're pretty relaxed, the three of them. Jen's a total monster sometimes, with her total lack of a filter and boundless enthusiasm. Liam is extremely chill, the Aussie drawl isn't just an act, he's really that mellow about most things. Josh is laid back, tries not to over analyze anything (everything), but there comes a moment every time they get together that he's kind of still wondering how he's lumped in with these two perfect, statuesque creatures. 

It blows his mind a little. 

But they just take it all in stride, sprawling across one another in makeup, hanging out at Jen's on the weekend, going to the shooting range and the gokart track and Liam teaching them both to surf in Hawaii when he comes to visit. They're a team, and they know it. 

Jen's back with Nick, their on again off again situation firmly in the on position after reuniting at Comic Con with the X-Men crew. Josh doesn't even remember she's a part of that group, she's so focused on their movies when they're filming together, that it comes as a shock when he sees her slot back in with this crowd of people who are totally foreign to Josh. But Liam just nudges Josh's shoulder, rolls his eyes and makes an offhand comment about idiot superheroes and they go spend a hundred bucks at Dave and Buster's in Temecula, far from the Comic Con crowd. 

When Liam's engagement ends, Josh and Jen close ranks around him, keeping him entertained with dog videos and Monty Python marathons and they even sit through the Ashes cricket tournament (which is about the most boring thing Josh can imagine, but Liam seems to appreciate the gesture), and Jen blocks MTV on Liam's tv, puts it under parental control and enters a passcode she forgets fifteen minutes later. 

Then the three of them split up, and Josh is filming by himself, followed by hiatus while Liam and Jen work in Georgia on Mockingjay. He could spend his time off there with the crew, they'd have him in a second, but Josh hasn't been home for any length of time in what seems like forever, so he takes the chance to go back to Kentucky. It's only a few states away and he can be on a plane in a minute (hell, he can drive the distance inside a day) and they'll all be together again in a little while for the giant Catching Fire tour Lionsgate's set up for them. 

It's a multi continent extravaganza, and it sounds fucking exhausting, but Josh knows it'll be good to see everyone again, be nice to be together. 

Then Jen gets sick in Paris, after the outdoor premiere in Berlin, where she's freezing to death in the icy rain, and her press is shut down, limited to a scant handful of spots. Liam is shuffled into her place with Josh, a welcome change in interview dynamics, and that might be where it goes downhill. 

Josh and Liam have no censor button together. None. And it takes three days to realize that the two of them have been running at the mouth at anything and everything, cracking filthy jokes and giggling like schoolgirls at their own innuendos, and Josh starts to thank their canny translators and his lucky stars that English is everyone's second language. 

The premieres are rote by now, they appear, hit the photo line, do a wad of press and cut shots for local papers and stations, and then they enter the theater and head right out the back. Their grueling schedule leaves no downtime, but they also don't have to suffer their movie half a dozen times in as many days. 

They're back to their hotel in Rome and Jen is coughing into Elizabeth's shoulder, and Liam and Josh are pressed as far into the corner of the elevator as they can get. Elizabeth offers to help Jen with her gown and ushers her down the hall. Because of the wonky time difference, and the fact their flight doesn't leave until ten instead of 7am, Josh isn't ready to crash into bed yet. He's also feeling that creeping loneliness he gets when they spend more than a couple days abroad, and the pace is so manic, a few hours to himself, while tempting, seems a little intimidating.

"There's an XBox in my room," Josh dangles in front of Liam when they step off the elevator. Liam looks at his watch, tells Josh to give him a few minutes to change and that he'll be down in a bit. Josh knows the pizza in the hotel restaurant is some of the best in the city, and with the speed they're zipping through Europe, he has no guilt whatsoever ordering a few of them before slipping out of his suit. 

Liam knocks twice and Josh scrambles off the bed to let him in. 

The room is smaller when Liam shoulders his way into the foyer (and the kid from Kentucky is still amazed he has a room in a five star hotel in Europe, much less one with its own foyer) and he goes directly to the minibar. 

"We're playing FIFA and you, my man, are getting exceptionally drunk with me tonight." 

There's an entire pizza left after three matches, and about eight empty minis on the table and Josh still hasn't learned that Liam's tolerance for booze is about 300% more than his own. Josh's goalie flubs another catch and he throws his controller across the room before climbing into his bed. 

"We still have eight minutes," Liam starts, but Josh shakes his head. 

"Done. Fucking finished. I'm too buzzed for this." The room's a little spinny, and Josh knows he needs to put his foot on the floor, but he can't seem to move his arm from over his face. He hears Liam moving around, but can't really bring himself to care for what he's doing until the bed sinks next to Josh, and something cool is thrust into his hand. 

"Drink up," Liam advises, and his stomach rolls a little at the thought of whatever's in the glass clutched in his fingers. 

"No more," Josh starts to argue, but Liam slides his hand behind Josh's neck and wedges his arm under Josh's back and tugs. Josh is suddenly half leaning, half lying across Liam's body and Liam's tipping a bottle of water to his lips, smiling while Josh gulps it down. 

"You're going to be raging in the morning if you don't drink this now. We've got to fly." And Liam takes the bottle from him when he's done, Josh swiping his hand across his mouth to catch the dribble of water that escaped down his chin. 

"Thanks." 

"No problem." And Josh notices that Liam doesn't try to move, other than to place the bottle on the table, and then his hand comes down to rest on Josh's shoulder. He feels a little less dizzy with the water in him, and not lying flat on his back. Liam flicks the remote through the channels, settles on an Italian dub of what looks like The Good, The Bad. and the Ugly. 

He must make a noise of dissatisfaction, because Liam gives Josh an amused smile. "Not a western fan?" 

"Not in Italian." Josh leans back further against Liam and kind of nuzzles against his hand.

It would feel weird with anyone else, Josh thinks.

It doesn't with Liam.

Liam doesn't move his arm or his hand, instead kind of runs his fingers absentmindedly through Josh's hair, which is still stiff from the product on the red carpet. 

Josh is looking up at Liam instead of the tv, and with enough alcohol still buzzing through his system, he takes a good long look at Liam's face, at the beard shading his jaw. He's wondering if it's as soft as it looks when Liam looks down at him and laughs openly. 

"What?" Josh asks, confused. 

"You can feel it if you want," Liam offers, and suddenly Josh feels his whole body flush, warm and then hot, and he knows his face is probably flaming red and he shuts his eyes and groans because he said it out loud, but turns into Liam's hand instead of away from it. He can feel Liam's fingers slide down, curve around his chin, and tip Josh's face back up towards his own. 

And Liam's eyes are so blue, especially with the dark hair, and Josh is a little dazzled by them in his inebriated state. His fingers itch a little, Josh really wants to touch, but his words sort of clump together in his mouth, knotted on his tongue, and he's not in the right state of mind to unravel them enough to ask for what he wants. 

"Jesus, I really don't mind." 

And Liam's fingers slip into his and he raises Josh's hand to his face. Josh curls his fingers in and he was right, Liam's beard is softer than it looks, softer than it feels in the occasional hug with it brushing against his shoulder or cheek. 

And then Josh realizes that he's up on an arm and he's almost petting Liam's face and Liam's just looking at him like that and suddenly, Josh's hand is around the back of Liam's neck, pulling him down so his lips line up. 

And Liam's not backing away, not shoving him off, not even cracking a joke about it. He's gone still, but isn't telegraphing any need to push away, so Josh leans in, pushes their mouths together. 

And, yeah. The beard tickles a little against his lips, but it's nothing compared to the curl in Josh's stomach, the tingle at the base of his spine. His wits have returned enough so that the room isn't spinning because of the alcohol, now just more because of the way Liam's mouth has relaxed against his, and his tongue is doing something against Josh's and wow, this was not the way he was expecting the night to go. Definitely not when Liam's hand slides across his back, spanning between his shoulders before fisting at the base of his skull, holding him firm, so he can work a little deeper into Josh's mouth. Josh curls his fingers into Liam's tshirt, can feel the muscles flexing and jumping under the cotton as he moves. The weight is solid, the wall of Liam's chest warm against his and Josh presses in further, rises up and wraps his arms fully around Liam so he's on his knees between Liam's thighs on the bed, elbows resting on his shoulders. 

Josh never feels tall, ever, anymore. He's surrounded by these tall, beautiful giants all the time, and he never feels like he has to prove himself, but it's a shift for him. From this point, though, Josh can look down into Liam's face, can drop his head forward, can feel the press of his kneecaps against Liam's legs.

Under him (when would he ever have imagined that to happen?), Liam makes a noise in his throat when Josh scrapes his teeth along Liam's lower lip. 

"Good or bad?" Josh ekes out, pulling back slightly. his voice rough with the after effects of the alcohol and a still suspended sense of disbelief.

"Good, Jesus, it's good." And Liam has a bewildered softness to his face, hazy with something Josh can't quite decipher, and he suddenly feels the power shift, like his center of gravity has tilted.

Liam's arms circle around his waist and haul Josh down so his thighs splay around Liam's hips. His hands slide up, framing Josh's face so he can look for a just a moment, eyes dark with something other than confusion, something urgent and strong that echoes in Liam's lips against his. 

Josh wakes with a throbbing headache and Liam's arms wrapped around him. His jaw is sore, mouth tender and used-feeling, and it hurts when he smiles with the memory. 

'Advil's on the stand,' Liam mumbles before turning over, taking the duvet with him. 

Josh finds the glass bottle of water he didn't finish the night before and swallows the painkillers before checking they have a while longer to sleep. He curls against Liam's back, warm and muscled under his fingers, and presses a furtive kiss to his shoulder before settling against him.

Tonight, they're in Spain, and Josh has plans.


End file.
